“Right.” Jessica pursed her lips a little, but when she met his eyes, Roman looked like he was hanging on her every word with an almost puppy-dog expression. Jessica had an intense feeling that he just wanted to please her, and she softened. “I mean, where should I start? It all smells delicious.”

Roman visibly lit up and made her a plate with waffle sticks covered in some berry Jessica didn’t recognize, a miniature parfait in crystal glassware, some creamy scrambled eggs, and a couple of pieces of bacon.

“I made some coffee too,” Roman said. “A little cream and some stevia.” He handed her a cup and sat across from her at the table.

“How did you know?” she asked.

“Oh, just a lucky guess.”

“Right…” Jessica repeated. She was having the oddest sensation; it was like her mind and body had entered into some kind of battle. Her brain was screaming at her that something was off, yet her body—and heart—felt like nothing had ever been more right. Calm down. You were up all night, and you’re not twenty-two anymore, she reminded herself.

“Did you give any more thought to mutually blowing off our days?”

“As much as I’d like to,” and Jessica realized she really meant this, “I don’t want to burden the rest of the team, and I… I can’t really… afford to.” She did not look up to see his expression—whatever it was, she didn’t want to confront it.

“I understand,” he said, although Jessica got the impression that he didn’t really understand at all. “Jessica… I… uh… I’m… I mean… we are…” Roman trailed off, and Jessica sensed he was coming to some sort of resolve. “Thank you for a truly wonderful evening and morning. I won’t soon forget it.”

Jessica thought he would ask for her phone number or at least to see her again, but he didn’t. “Yes, thank you, Roman. The pleasure was all mine.” She got up and collected her clothes, which Roman had arranged on the bed for her, and changed in the bathroom.

When she got to the door, Roman appeared right behind her; she was lost in thought and assumed she just didn’t notice him following. She thought he might argue with her over staying again, but he remained oddly silent and back to his frustratingly quiet demeanor.

“Goodbye, Roman.” She instantly felt like her heart dropped into her stomach and that she was making a huge mistake. But her brain was winning this one.

Roman leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Goodbye, Jessica.”

By the time Jessica arrived at the spa, she was a little early for her shift, which worked out well since she had approximately 12 unanswered text messages from her gran, each with increasing urgency.

Gran: Jessica Anne Roberts, young lady, if I don’t hear back from you within the hour, I will be calling the police!

Jessica: Gran, hi, sorry. I’m safe. Everything’s fine. About to head into work.

Gran: Gracious child, you about gave me a heart attack. I was about to come over there. You’re not fooling me; I know something happened. You know I know.

Jessica: I don’t have time right now, but I promise to catch you up later. Love you.

Gran: Oh, you bet you will, young lady. Love you too, sweet pea. Have a great day. Sending hugs.

Jessica could practically feel her gran’s arms wrap around her, smoothing out her frayed nerves. This is going to be a long ass day, she thought as she looked around the locker room, hoping no one would notice her more-than-yoga-pants-and-a-sweatshirt attire. The boots were a dead giveaway, so she yanked those off quickly, swiftly stuffing them into her cubby.

“Hey, hun,” Marnie said from behind. “Interesting evening?”

Jessica jerked her head up quickly, hitting her head on the locker shelf. “Dammit,” she swore under her breath. “Um, hi, Marnie. What do you mean?”

“We missed you last night. I was really hoping you’d join us, and I wanted to introduce you to my friend, Darren.”

“Oh! Yes, sorry about that. I ended up having a last-minute client added to my books.”

“Oh alright. Next time then?” She sounded sincerely sad.

Jessica all of a sudden felt compelled to touch Marnie. She reached out and placed her hand on the woman’s arm.

“I really appreciate you Marnie and the continual invites out. I have a hard time with new people, but you’ve been incredibly kind and welcoming. I promise I will make more of an effort.”

Jessica thought Marnie’s smile would reach her ears. Not only could she see the change in her coworker, but she received an overwhelming sense of elation, replacing what had been rejection. Before she could stop her, Marnie lunged forward and gave Jessica a huge hug.

“Okay, Marnie,” Jessica chuckled a little, “let’s get to work.” Marnie released her and went to her own locker to get ready.

All Jessica hoped for was to have a better workday than yesterday. Although yesterday did have some unexpected, welcomed surprises, but she left Roman’s in such a state of confusion. Will I ever see him again? she wondered as she prepped the room for her first client.

“Hello, Mrs. Sisko. I’m Jessica; I’ll be your masseuse today. Do you have any medical conditions or injuries I should be aware of?” Or any open wounds that would cause me to touch your blood and freak out? she almost added but thought better of it.

“Hello, dear. Every so often I get a pinched nerve in my upper middle back. It seems to have been agitated by the flight out here so that area is a little sensitive.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Yes, it’s quite frustrating really. Once it starts, I usually have to just rest for weeks. But of course, here we are in Vegas, of all places for it to flare up.” The woman almost looked like she was going to cry.

Again, Jessica had a compelling sense to reach out to the woman. She touched her arm and offered a warm smile.

“I will do whatever I can to ease your pain,” Jessica said and surprised herself with the conviction with which she replied. The tension Jessica hadn’t really noticed in the room started to lift a little, and Mrs. Sisko wiped a tear from her eye.

“Thank you, dear.”

“I’ll just pop out for a moment. Please undress to your level of comfortability and get situated under the blanket, facedown.”

When Jessica had given her a few moments, she returned to the room and situated the foot pillow. She then began to lightly touch her client on top of the blanket to connect herself to the person and get them used to being touched. She moved around in front of the headrest and slowly combed the women’s hair forward, brushing her scalp with her nails.

“I’m going to start with very light pressure, and we can increase it if you’re feeling alright.” Jessica warmed up some massage oil with citrus notes between her palms. The second she placed her full palms on Mrs. Sisko’s back, she sucked in a breath, receiving an intense shock of pain—but she wasn’t in pain, not at all. The pain was radiating from the woman on the table. Jessica couldn’t believe Mrs. Sisko had walked in here; she was more than a “little sensitive.”

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Sisko said and tensed up for a moment.

Jessica pulled her hands away. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you? Are you alright?”

“I… I’m not sure.” Jessica saw her back muscles moving around a little as the woman shifted her weight around. “There was a little bit of a strange sensation at first but that seems to be over. Probably just an initial reaction to the oil or something.”

Jessica was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the massage oil. She had a feeling she knew exactly what this was, but she really wasn’t in the mood to open up that can of worms; she had enough to deal with already.

She again placed her hands on Mrs. Sisko; this time the pain didn’t shock her as much, and she was able to begin working on her back. The more Jessica loosened the woman’s muscles, the more at ease she felt, or rather, they both felt. Not only that, but it felt like the room itself was changing color. Before, it seemed almost tinted in gray as soon as the client had entered the room. Now, it was more like a soft yellow, becoming clearer and brighter.

By the end of the massage, Jessica couldn’t feel any pain coming from Mrs. Sisko at all. When she removed the eye pillow sachet, it looked like tears had fallen from the corner of the woman’s eyes.

“Oh, ma’am. Are you alright? You should have spoken up if something wasn’t feeling right.”

“Oh no, dear. That’s not it at all. I’m… I haven’t felt this good in… well, probably years if you must know. I feel like I could get back into running or kayaking. I honestly feel incredible, and I’m so grateful. Thank you. Thank you very much.” This pushed her over into actively crying.

“Oh. Um. Yes. You’re welcome; glad I could help. I’ll just give you a few minutes. Take your time; stay there as long as you’d like. When you’re ready to leave, I’ll be waiting outside the room with some water.”